Former West Ham United and Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew shares his views on his two old clubs with the Evening Standard's Ken Dyer ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture at London Stadium...
With Saturday’s West Ham versus Newcastle match firmly in mind, the timing was perfect to link up once again with a man who has managed both clubs.
Alan Pardew spent more than three seasons at the Hammers, taking the club back to the Premier League in 2005 – followed the next season with a cruel defeat on penalties by Liverpool in what is still regarded by many as the best FA Cup finals.
During his time in the North East, Alan guided Newcastle to fifth place in the Premier League in 2012 and then the quarter-finals of the Europa League the following season.
Now advising Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia on football matters, Alan has been suitably impressed from afar, with West Ham’s recent success and continued improvement.
“Looking from the outside, it was brave by the West Ham Board to go back to David Moyes – that doesn’t always happen – but it was a good decision,” he said. “David then did what he’s done for most of his career and that is create a team who is hard-edged, knows what it is doing, is organised and more than competitive.
“He had built a really good side and with some of the teams around them perhaps not as strong as they should be – Manchester United and Spurs in particular – it gives West Ham a real fighting chance of what David did at Everton and that is get them into that Champions League spot.
“I almost did it with Newcastle many moons ago but it is very difficult, it’s an exclusive area. My best wishes go to David and his team and I really hope he does that.”
FIREPOWER
Alan is very familiar with the players David has at his disposal, including one who helped fire his Southampton team to EFL Trophy glory at Wembley Stadium in 2010…
“At the top of the pitch the team looks quite stable, with Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen. Further back the two players from the Czech Republic, Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal, really give them some fire power which a lot of teams in the Premier League, I would suggest, would be very envious of.
“The Club has made some excellent signings with Jarrod the pick because I didn’t see too many people queuing up to take him from Hull.
“As for Michail, I was his manager at Southampton. I’ve always loved him and I’m very pleased he is doing well.
“And then there is Declan Rice, I’ve watched him live a couple of times and he has a standing about him. Not many players have that aura about them but Declan does. There have been games where I watched him a bit more flamboyant with his runs and his passing and that took him up another level. All West Ham fans, including myself, hope the Club can hold onto him.
“I can understand that David has to answer questions about Declan at every press conference and his name comes up in every transfer window because he has that presence on a football pitch that other clubs will want.”
OPPORTUNITY
Alan is also full of optimism for West Ham’s Europa League campaign, which kicks back into action next month.
“We certainly didn’t have a big enough squad at Newcastle,” he recalled. “We reached the quarter-finals but really paid for it in the league. I think David’s squad is a little stronger in terms of depth and he has a great opportunity.
“To win the Europa League would be a real feather in West Ham and David’s cap – and they have a chance. It will be hard because the club I’m working with at the moment, CSKA Sofia, know the strength of that competition.
“It’s always very hard to get past some of these teams over two legs but it could be one of those special seasons for West Ham and I hope it will be.
“I still remember clearly when we competed in Europe with West Ham and drew Palermo who were unfortunately probably the strongest team in Italy at that time.”
QUALITY
It was also Alan who gave captain Mark Noble his senior debut as a 17-year-old in August 2004 in an EFL Cup tie with Southend United at the Boleyn Ground.
As Noble prepares to hang up his boots 18 years on, his old manager said the midfielder was always destined for the top.
“I love Mark and as a manager it’s always good to listen to your senior players,” he said, “and people such as Teddy Sheringham and Christian Dailly were saying, ‘Wow, this kid is doing great'.
“With those comments in mind you don’t want to hesitate. These players – the ones who make their debuts when they are still teenagers – don’t come into teams and then nail a position down inside 12 months by accident. The vast majority of them do go on to be top players.
“Mark had that quality. He’s West Ham through and through and there are not that many players these days who have that sort of allegiance to one club.
“I hope – and expect – that when the time comes at the end of the season, Mark gets the sort of send-off that he deserves because, as the fans will know, he held things together more than once when things were really tough.”
Another player admired by Alan was current West Ham coach and former captain Kevin Nolan, who he also managed for one season at St James' Park in 2010/11.
“Kevin was my captain and a great help to me when I first went in at Newcastle. He’s a demanding, sound character and he will push things all the way," Alan told me.
“As for Newcastle, their last three results have been pivotal for them. They definitely now have the quality within the group and they have a great young manager in Eddie Howe.
“With the financial backing they now have, everyone will be watching them because they could blast their way up the Premier League quickly over the next few seasons.
“They have the financial muscle, probably for the first time since Kevin Keegan’s time, to give those great fans what they’ve always wanted.”